Fishing equipment, including rods and reels mounted on the rods, increasingly are of substantial value and are often targets for theft. Generally, fishing reels are designed independent of fishing rods and are designed such that reels may be secured to a variety of rods. Typically, a reel includes a base structure (reel foot) that mates with a surface of the rod (reel seat). A reel usually has a reel neck ending in the reel foot which may be mated to the real seat of the rod. Typically, rods will include one or more locking rings configured to slide over a portion of the reel foot to secure the reel foot to the rod. One or both of the locking rings may be configured to thread over a threaded surface of the rod or part of the reel seat such that the locking rings may be threaded in place over the reel foot to secure the reel in place. Typically, a locking ring on a bottom portion of the reel seat is configured to thread upward over the reel seat until the reel foot is secured into both locking rings. Reels may be removed from a rod by sufficiently loosening one or more the locking rings until the reel foot is free to pass away from the locking rings.
An angler may employ numerous rod/reel combinations on any given fishing outing. The rod/reel combinations often are transported to either a site of the expedition or to a fishing vessel. Although reels are usually removable from a particular rod, typically, rods and reels are transported in an assembled combination for convenience and time purposes. Often, the rod/reel combinations are left unattended during transport and/or when placed on the fishing vessel. Even after being installed in rod holders, the rod/reel combinations are often left unattended for periods of time, which may be overnight when a vessel is docked at a marina or similar.
Although the rod/reel combinations may be disassembled for storage and/or transport and assembled combinations may also be moved into a secure location for storage, constant disassembly and assembly and/or loading and unloading of the rod/reel combinations is usually considered a burden for an angler. For example, an angler on a five day near shore fishing trip using a fishing vessel that will be docked each night at a marina may find himself/herself forced to load and unload numerous rod/reel combinations each day in order to prevent theft of these expensive pieces of equipment.
Current devices for securing fishing equipment typically require some transportation of the rod/reel combination or involve a rod holder apparatus that may secure a rod and/or reel to the holder. Other devices may secure a reel to a rod and/or another object but do not prevent access and/or manipulation of the locking rings, allowing the rod/reel combination to be disassembled and potential theft of the rod, the reel or both.
Accordingly, there is need for an improved apparatus to secure rods and reels in combination and to further secure the combination to another object to prevent theft.